Forum says Telegraph corridor needs freshening

The somewhat drab Telegraph Rd. (US-24) corridor through Monroe could use an Olive Gar­den, Whole Foods store, movie theater, an I-75 business route and more sidewalks for pedestrians to improve the highway’s accessibility and appeal.

What it needs are more trees and greenways, res­taurants, service drives, more aesthetically ap­pealing building designs, a welcome and heritage center and maybe even a micro brewery.

These and numerous other suggestions arose at a two-hour forum Tuesday night at Monroe City Hall as part of the Resilient Monroe process to create a feasible plan for sustainable and posi­tive change in the City of Monroe and Frenchtown and Monroe townships.

The three- day “char­rette” schedule continues today with an open house from 5:30 to 7 tonight and a final wrapup session at 6 p. m. Thursday. Both sessions will be at the city hall, 120 E. First St., and citizens are urged to voice their opinions.

Those who can’t make those times are invited to stop in on the third floor of city hall anytime to­day and Thursday to add their recommendations on how to improve the corridor.

About 30 people, most­ly from the city and Mon­roe Township, attended Tuesday’s kick-off for Re­silient Monroe, a coop­erative effort by the three communities to grow in complementary direc­tions.

Participants broke up into four groups to cri­tique and vision for the future about a four- mile stretch of Telegraph from Dunbar Rd. north to Stewart Rd.

At times, there were more negatives than positives noted on maps of the corridor provided by Land Information Access Association (LIAA), an independent organization based in Traverse City that is assisting the three communities with improving their master plans.

Redeveloping the former Farmer Jack food plaza and a park along the vacant city- owned marsh property on the west side of Telegraph behind Walgreens at M-50 might boost that area’s potential, said Josh Henscheid, chairman of the Monroe Township Planning Commission.

“ The River Raisin is scenic, but that area is wasted” just sitting idle, Mr. Henscheid said of the park property. “ This is one of the things that could be a crowd drawer.”

Sam Solomon, who owns an auto body and collision shop along Telegraph, said sidewalks are badly needed to keep women walking with strollers and children off the busy corridor.

“A lot of people are walking in the street with their groceries and it’s not safe,” he said. “ There is no place to wait for the bus.”

Large semi storage units parked along the west side of Telegraph were deemed as negatives. A string of vacant and abandoned commercial buildings on both sides of Telegraph just south of M- 50 where the former Bowl-O-Drome and Monroe Diner once operated also were frowned upon.

“ The old Monroe Diner looks like a bomb went off inside,” said Randy Kull, a member of the planning commission.

The Humane Society of Monroe County headquarters also was deemed an eyesore and should be relocated, one observer said.

Every 15 feet or so is a curb cut for another business, which slows traffic as motorists enter or exit the highway, several people said.

Milward Beaudry, executive director for Monroe Public Access Cable Television, said the service drive behind Big Lots and the Monroe Mall is seldom used and should be extended to Holiday Blvd. to improve traffic flow.

The La-Z-Boy headquarters and the empty United Furniture and Farmer Jack’s stores could be redeveloped into better facilities, participants agreed.

“ United Furniture is a beautiful building being wasted,” Mr. Henscheid said.

“ We need grade separations ( over or under) the crossings so we can get around,” Mr. Micka said. “One train ties them all up.”

Brian Lamour and Harold Caldwell, both candidates vying for city clerk in November, said there are many good restaurants along Telegraph, including the Panera Bread, Dolce Vita and Nick & Nino’s complex. But a few more would be nice. Others agreed and began rattling off names of restaurants they’d most like to see, including a Mongolian BBQ and Lone Star restaurant, and stores like Costco.

Participants differed on whether to add bike lanes to Telegraph. Tani Solomon said that would be a low priority and she would rather see lanes be off the street for safety because of the heavy traffic and speed of vehicles. Another group favored having them on the street.

Building a roundabout at an intersection and moving utilities underground were soundly booed as unnecessary or too expensive.

Adding a median with pedestrian crossings like the ones on W. Elm drew some support.

The Monroe Mall and Food Town plaza were cited as “tired looking” business centers that needed makeovers.

All of the comments were recorded and will be included on sketches being drawn by a team of landscape planners and architects, said Harry Burkholder, community planner for LIAA.

Those sketches will be available for review through Thursday’s session.

There is an abundance of parking in the corridor, with about 180 acres dedicated for that purpose, Mr. Burkholder said. There are an average of 2,500 to 2,900 vehicles a day that use the state highway, he added.

Dan Swallow, director of economic and community development for the city, said any new development should complement each community so that all three entities benefit.

“ We should identify what’s our identity and can we unify around that?” Mr. Swallow told his group. “ We need a common theme.”

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